


The Games We Play

by TheEmpressAR



Category: Bates Motel (2013), Bates Motel RPF
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Incest Play, Pseudo-Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-19 08:15:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7353076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEmpressAR/pseuds/TheEmpressAR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norman and Norma spend a night at home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going...Out.

_"....I'm afraid of you and I love you...that's a bad combination."_

 

Norman Bates was straightening his tie in the mirror of the tiny bathroom on the second floor. The same bathroom he shared with his mother, Norma. There were traces of her everywhere in the room, from her stockings hanging up on the shower curtain rod to her silk bra hanging on the doorknob of the room. She had told him several times that they were easier to dry this way. One of her lipsticks sat perched on the porcelain sink counter. His hand lingered to pick it up, if only for a moment, but returned back to his hair to push an errant strand into place.

Norma stood in the doorway looking at him almost disapprovingly, somewhat adoringly. She leaned against the door frame waiting for him to catch her eye. She was dressed in a blue and white 50s style dress, a white cardigan around her shoulders. Her arms were folded and the adoration in her face inevitably drew into lines of concern.

"Where are you going, Norman?" She said softly to his back as he continued to pick at his coat and straighten his clothes. He took some aftershave to pat his face and neck with.

"I've told you mother, for the hundredth time...out." He said with somewhat of a tremor but increasing determination. He knew where this would lead, and he didn't feel like getting started. But like clockwork, it began as it always did.

"Remind me again, who you are going...out...with?" She said adding more of a stern edge to her tone. Norman brushed past her in the doorway and headed towards the staircase. He didn't want to look back at her because every glance weakened the already little resolve he had to defy her and live like the teenage boy he wanted so desperately to be. He didn't care to spend another Friday night alone with her sitting in the family room staring into space. Not that he never minded it. He used to love that activity more than anything in the world. They used to do so much together. They used to sing songs, and talk for hours and they would dance, and she would let him rest his head on her chest and she would run her fingers through his hair and whisper to him all night.

He paused at the memories, only having to give in to them completely and return to those feelings. But as of late it had become too tense to even be around her for more than five minutes. There was always something wrong. Always something he was doing that didn't please her, or upset her in some way. He always felt "not good enough" and that someone else was always better than he was and that someone was always trying to take her away from him and her affections. He had suffered many countless nights alone in his room wondering just what had happened to let everything get this way. Tonight he didn't want to think about these things anymore. He was invited by some of his school classmates, including Cody, to attend a party out by the lake and he was going to go whether or not it happened to be the worst idea he could possibly imagine. He knew he had nothing in common with his classmates or their "extra-curricular" activities.

Norma huffed down the stairs quickly after Norman. He was not going to get away with just walking out on her without her consent. She liked NONE of his fellow classmates, especially the girls. She found NOTHING appealing about their style of dress and what was undoubtedly on their minds to be doing with her impressionable son. She couldn't fathom the thought of her son in the arms of one of those "punk school kids" probably with an earring in her nose or somewhere else...she shuddered at the thought. Why couldn't he just stay at the house with her or even go down to the motel and do a little work there?

Emma had left for the weekend. 'She was such a nice girl', Norma thought briefly. She would still love for Norman to have a special friendship with her. That she approved of. At least she knew where he would be at all times. The unknown was what she was now troubled by. What was he going to do out there that he couldn't do here with her?

"Norman....Norman....STOP!" She raised her voice and put a hand on his elbow. Norman spun around, exasperated.

"WHAT...Mother?" He said, almost snapping her name.

"It's just....It's just...I thought you'd rather spend some time here with me..." She started, hesitatingly poking his feelings for the sensitive spots. "You know if you leave me I'm going to be all alone here. I even made you some supper...pork chops....you like that...you know you like that Norman. It's one of your favorite meals."

She looked at him with her kind, motherly smile, pleading with her eyes. Her hand had not left his elbow. Norman took her hand and put it to her side. He didn't want her to continue with this game. He had seen her play it too many times as of late.

"No mother. I'm going out. I've told you a while ago that this party was going to happen and I was invited and YOU said yourself that I never get out of the house so I don't understand why you are holding me back now!" Norman's voice was beginning to raise and he had to will his emotions back down inside of his chest or he knew she was going to win....again. He stared at her in her eyes, not backing away, almost daring her to tell him that he could not leave. He would leave.

Something crossed over Norma's features. It was a look she always used when she decided to go to "Plan B". She stared at her son with as just as much intensity as he was giving back to her. "Alright, Norman, she said slowly. That's fine....you go on ahead and go out with your friends. No....that's fine...I totally understand the situation now. You're a man....you believe these girls have more to offer you than your mother does...and perhaps they do...in their pants. I don't know I only provide for your every need and have done your every command and wish...SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN!!!"

She screeched out her last words, barely containing her claws as she almost lashed out at him. Norman bit his bottom lip. There it was. The guilt trip. 'She must really be desperate to switch gears this quickly.' He thought. A damned tear had started at the corner of his eye and he wasn't about to let her see it as it formed. He spun on his heel quickly and jerked open the inner door and pushed his way to the outer door of the house.

"AND YOU CAN JUST STAY OUT THERE....DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING BACK INTO THIS HOUSE TONIGHT....GO FIND SOME WHORE TO SLEEP WITH!!" Norma pushed Norman hard at his back, shoving him the rest of the way out of the house. The resounding slams of both doors echoed into the darkness marking the finality of her decision. Norman turned back to the door, dumbfounded by her accusation and treatment. She really had gone too far. There was no reason that she should behave this way and make it an "end of the world" situation.

From inside he could hear the rattling of pots and pans and slamming of drawers and doors in the kitchen. He stood on the doorstep for a moment, looking up at the house. It was dark and silent other than the activity coming from the kitchen area. A light was on there and he could see her shadow moving rapidly within. He put his hand to the doorknob, his features resigned to his usual kowtowed expression, and already inside of him he was making the excuses he needed to hear to forgive her for her actions.

'She would be lonely...' He thought. 'She did need him...She did want him to be with her...how could he be such a horrible son?' He pushed the door open quietly and he heard a pause in the noise from the other room. It continued almost as quickly as it stopped and Norman shook his head. He knew she was listening for him to come back. He took off his jacket and laid it across the banister at the bottom of the staircase. He started back up the stairs to his bedroom and paused when he got to the top of the stairs to look over the railing at the house below. The noise had ceased in the other room, and he could feel her presence almost choking at the bit to come careening around the corner to him. But she stayed put in the kitchen.

He waited a moment more before going to his room and closing the door.


	2. The Same Thing Happens Every Night...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Norman will bend to his mother's wishes...yet again...

_"...I will always love you....you are the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and you are the last thing that I think about at night..."_

 

He didn't know how long he was lying there. Stretched out on his back, his body covering the full length of his bed, his arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling. The lamplight was dim, casting shadows on the walls and he was almost nodding off before he heard a familiar tap on this door.

Norma eased the door open with her foot. She was carrying a tray with her with what appeared to be the meal she was talking about earlier. Norman didn't move from the spot on his bed but he watched her every move from the corner of his eye. Norma placed the tray on his nightstand and finally turned to face her son, standing over him looking down at him in his repose. She was calmer now. She had returned to her previous state of contentment now that she had what she wanted.

Norman smirked on the inside. She may have won, but he let her do it as usual. Whatever made Mother happy, that was his lot in life.

"Hey..." She said softly looking over him in a loving way. She smiled a half-smile showing a bit of teeth and a whole lot of sparkle in her eyes.

"Hello, Mother." Norman replied flatly, not quite giving in to the charms yet.

When he didn't look or smile back at her, Norma sighed raggedly. She laughed suddenly and did a quick twirl about the room. She tried her hardest to put on a lighthearted air of indifference. She fiddled with his curtains, touched a few items on his dresser and turned to face him again.

"Hey, honey...what do you say about going downstairs and eating dinner with me at the table...it's much nicer down there than it is up here in this boring old bedroom." She turned and abruptly fell to her knees beside his bed. She was at eye level with him now. All smiles and sunshine. She looked lovingly into his eyes and tried to touch his hair.

"As you wish, Mother. If that is what would make you happy." Norman said still on edge and angry from the words that were hurled in his face a mere 15 minutes ago. He sat up in the bed and moved his legs over the edge and stood up stiffly pushing past her on the floor. She looked up at him as he strode past, crestfallen that he was still behaving as if someone had stolen his favorite teddy bear and she stared into the empty space that he once occupied on the bed. She worried only momentarily. She knew her son. She knew he wouldn't act this way forever.

She found him sitting in his usual spot at the kitchen table. She had already set their places earlier and his was still set, minus the plate which was in her hands. She placed it silently in front of him and took her place in her chair. Not a word was spoken between them and she hated this silence. She wanted him to speak to her at any and all costs. She knew she was overacting earlier but she just couldn't help herself sometimes. She ALWAYS had to have her way, even if it cost a moment of unpleasantness.

Norma looked across the table at her son who was slouching in his seat. He was not sitting up straight as she usually required while they were at the dinner table. She always doted on posture and proper eating habits, it just said something about the person who took care to care about their appearance and presence. She tried to brush it off as nothing, just Norman being fussy over their little spat, and ignore it. The more she thought about how he just slumped at the table...even going as far as putting his elbows on the edge and picking around at his plate started to aggravate her more and more. She delicately picked up a carrot on her fork and daintily put it in her mouth and contemplatively chewed, purposely not looking at her son who was by now flicking peas off of his fork onto the white table cloth.

"Oh Norman...really!" She said after a moment more of his childish behavior. "Can you please stop acting like you're five years old and eat your food like a grown man?"

"Oh I'm sorry, Mother. Is that how I was behaving? Like a 'five year old'?" Norman said gearing up. He was starting to shake in his seat working himself into a minor frenzy. "Well MAYBE if I wasn't treated like one every blessed minute of my life then I might know what it WAS like to be a 'grown man' as you put it."

He picked up his glass of milk, sloshing some over the edge and gulped it down in two quick gulps, milk trailing down the side of his mouth to pool at his throat. Norma stared for moment, lost in his actions but snapped herself out of it as he quickly slammed his glass to the table and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He still slouched in his chair now leveling her with a look of sheer contempt. "When are you going to let me be my own PERSON, MOTHER!?" I can't even breathe in this house without you having a remark on every aspect of my being! I'm TRAPPED HERE!

"Sit up, Norman...." Norma cut Norman off mid-sentence, not fully paying attention to anything that he was ranting about.

Norman paused. His mouth was agape and he just stared at her. She was looking down at her food trying hard to focus on it and keep up her steady resolve. She was doing it. He was allowing her to do it again, and the funny part of it was he barely recognized that that was what was happening here. Her control on him was a tangible thing, and he always acquiesced to it. She used him up in every way possible and she didn't even have to look at him. Did she even know she was doing it anymore? It came so natural to her, so simple and so easy.

Norman put his fork down and picked the napkin up that he placed in his lap, her training still having a hold on him even though he was purposefully fighting against her pull. He tossed it on the table and pushed himself away from it, scrapping the legs across the linoleum floor that had seen far too much bloodshed than it should have. "I'm not hungry anymore...."

He stood for a moment more, looking at his mother's bent head, silently willing her to look up at him...look at what she had reduced him to. He truly felt five years old at the moment, but he was still an old man trapped in a tormented situation for an eternity.

Norma put her fork down and finally raised her eyes to his. His expression caught her off guard. It was her own defense mechanism not to ever fully look at Norman. Then she would have to admit to herself, make herself believe that he was no longer her little boy and was finding it harder to hold on to that grasp of control which used to be so tight and so secure. Now it was almost like grasping at the wind, the sands of him slipping through her fingers. His eyes, his pained expression, his depths his troubles, his love for her open and playing across his features, unschooled, un-contained. Why couldn't she let him grow up? Why couldn't she let him have the freedom that his peers experienced? Why couldn't she let herself love him the way he needed to be love by allowing him to have his own thoughts and feelings without her being a part of every single one of them?

She didn't know how long the thoughts were swirling around in her head or how long she was caught mesmerized by his gaze, but she had convinced herself long ago and there were long hard rules put into place that were like concrete to jackhammer through to change her mindset and how she felt and how she would always feel when it came to her son. This was HER son. This was how she was always going to treat him, and love him. This made him a part of who he was. This WAS who he was. She had molded him and created him and she was not going to chip away at her handiwork just because HE wanted to live. She loved him too much for that. 

Norman turned silently and left the room. He saw the unspoken words written on her face, he saw the determined set of her lips into that firm hard line, and saw the conclusions she was drawing in her crystal-clear blue eyes. He saw the war she was battling within herself and he knew that the war was always over him. The cord was always strong between them and in times where the intensity was this strong, no words were needed. 

The connection was broken and they both had disconnected with almost an electric snap. Norman went to the living room and sat down on the couch. He stared blankly for a moment, not really quite sure what he should do next. His evening was pretty much ruined and he had resigned himself to the fact that there would now be just a stony silence between the two of them until it was time to go to his bed, cold and alone. He worried at a thread on the couch cushion, waiting for her to come to him and continue to play this game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you for reading and liking where this little train of thought is going! Please let me know if you want MORE!!! I'm sorry for my grammatical errors. If I miss a comma here and there I apologize. It has been a while since The Empress was in an English class. I hope it does not distract you away from my point.
> 
> Thanks again! More to come :)


	3. Wrapped Around My Finger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This could go any way between them. Choose your own adventure....where do they end up?

_"....a boy's best friend is his mother."_

 

The soft sounds of the old record player in the corner reached Norman's ears before he saw the owner of the hand that turned it on. Engelbert Humperdinck's 'Please release me' floated into the room and an ironic smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. He was gazing absently at the open doorway, the back of his mind keenly aware of her presence. She glided into the room as airily as the music. Her features wistful, hands insecurely tucked into her apron pockets, her eyes trained on him, desperately speaking to him through the music. She stood before him, looking down at the top of his tousled head, her hand coming out of her pocket to rest lightly on the top of it. That gesture and all of her gestures spoke to him more than her words needed to. It was the reality of living with someone all of their lives. They knew how to speak through touches, looks and their minds.

Her hand came down to trail the line of his jaw and lifted his face to meet hers. He looked at her in the face and for the life of him couldn't remember why he was mad at her. All the events of the day and truthfully of the last few weeks were melting away through the warmth of her thumb on his skin to match the warmth of her eyes. He smiled again. A quirk of a smile and stood up. In this moment she was beautiful.

His body instinctively melded into hers as it had did a thousand times before. He eased her back into the middle of the living room and began a slow sway to the music. She smiled brightly, knowingly up at him and took her dance pose. They fit so well together. They moved flawlessly together. She loved dancing with him. She loved teaching him the nuances of rhythm and flow through the movements of their bodies. Neither faltered or halted but began to live through the music. There was an intensity in the air and it was another important moment for the both of them. Forgiveness through touch and feel through look and gesture. Words could hurt and heal but none were necessary now.

The song had changed to Bobby Vinton's 'Mr. Lonely' and Norman paused briefly. His hand was resting comfortably at her lower back just above the curve of her hip and was absently fingering the material of her dress as he kept time with the beat. He stopped and looked at his mother who had a sort of glazed over dream-like look in her eyes. She was lost in their dance but also paused and cleared her vision when he stopped. Norman laughed almost a wheezing chuckle and shook his head. "Really, Mother?"

Norma couldn't help herself and returned his wide grin with a mischievous glint in her eye. "What??" She laughed and batted at his arm.

Norman shook his head again and pulled his mother into a tight embrace his arms around her shoulders and he laughed into her neck. "I could never be lonely with you here!" He rocked her back and forth breaking the serious mood that was settling over them. He eased away from the embrace and looked at her again. He smiled sincere and there was her boy again. All dimples and unveiled love. All hers. He moved away from her after a moment or two more of a strong hug, just releasing the last bit of tension between them and transmuting unspoken apologies for their earlier behavior.

"Enough of this mopey music, I'm ready to DANCE." He said as he went to the player and put on some more up-beat what he liked to call "beach-blanket" tunes and returned to his mother, grabbing her around the waist and spinning her around the room. Norma laughed, now giddy and clapped along with the music as Norman mimed riding a surfboard in the ocean.

They did the twist, they did the sock hop and the bunny hop around the room and finally fell breathlessly to the floor, laughing. They faced each other and Norman effortlessly wrapped his arms around his mother's back and she laced her fingers behind his head. They had done this countless times and Norman always thought this was the closest he would ever be to the person he loved most in his heart. They dived into the pools of each other's eyes and calmed their laughs until the quiet silence of the house overtook them and they became a part of it.

Norman had come to a conclusion not long ago, that his mother was beginning to mean more to him than any other person in this world. That is why he thought he would try and resist her. Try and find someone else that would fit the role his mind and body was creating for her. He knew no one else and he wanted to change that. He tried. But no one ever even came close to the standards that she had set for him. For a woman that he wanted in his life in a romantic 'I'm in love with you' kind of way, no one even qualified. He knew there were girls out there that wanted to get close to him. He wasn't aware that they had their own agendas, but the one or two that came close to him wound up tearing his heart out. Even Emma, whom he knew would never dream of doing such a thing, would still never reach that unattainable loft that set the standard for what he wanted in his partner, his life mate, the way the woman currently in his arms had reached and ascended to an even higher plane of existence.

There was something about his mother. She frustrated the living hell out of him but he would ALWAYS want more of what she had to give and what she had to take.

Norma studied her son as he looked at her. She smiled at him, wanting to know the thoughts of his mind, wanted to know everything that he was feeling, hoping that she was a part of them in some way. They had built back a little of their fragile threads, but she always knew that underneath the delicate state of their temporary unhappiness there was a bond that would never be damaged or broken. She felt so much love in her heart for him that in a million years she would never know truthfully how to express it to him. She was content with how things were now. Lying here on this cold, hard floor with only an old rug for comfort, she was truly happy. She wanted nothing to come between them and destroy their world.

Norman's thumb came up to brush along the fine line of her eyebrow. He gulped and swallowed hard. He shifted against her and pulled her to him closer. The air changed in the room suddenly. The playfulness had stopped again and he was going into that territory where his thoughts had had a hold on him, tugging him into an area that was potentially becoming dangerous. Norma's hand went back up to his hair and gently fingered its fineness, sifting her fingers through it, marveling at his response.

Norman's breath had become shallow and he closed his eyes to her touch just letting the feeling pass through his body in a delightful shimmer. Norma watched has her hand took on a will of its own and traced a pattern into the curve of his ear. Norman opened his eyes once again and studied her as she watched herself do these things.

"Mother..." he hesitated. His voice was unsteady and soft, barely audible. She returned her gaze back at him. "I have to tell you something." He said and pressed even closer to her.

He was becoming too bold, but something inside of him was urging him to speak his heart, even if it meant that he would be doomed because of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small little chapter update this time. It is building to something I hope you all will truly like! #Soulbates!


	4. Here We Go.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little deeper...

_You've gotta hope that there's someone for you_  
_As strange as you are_  
_Who can cope with the things that you do_  
_Without trying too hard_  
  
_Because you can bend the truth_  
_Until it's soothing you_  
_These things that you're wrapping all around you_  
_You never know what they will amount to_  
_And your life is just going on without you_  
_It's the end of the things you know_  
_Here we go - Jon Brion_

 

She stood  at the sink, her mind racing by what he had just told her. Her pulse was elevated and she didn't know whether she would scream or cry or both. Her fingers dug into the formica counter top and she stared out into the blackness of night.

He approached on cat-like feet tip-toeing quietly behind her, seeing her visibly trembling at the sink. He hated himself for doing this to her. He hated himself for not being able to be something, anything more to her, than just her son. He hated the barrier that was between them and the stigma of what only being her son had brought. He didn't want to feel that way tonight. She had left him abruptly, but she wouldn't leave him again.

  
He heard her sigh softly, a slight tremor in her voice. He came within a hair's breath away from her, invading her private bubble but not close enough to touch. He studied her from behind, his eyes moving over her body. Her arms bare she shivered in the cold...or could it have been something else to cause the chill to go down her spine. His breath ghosted over the curve of her shoulder and she shuddered inwardly.  
Familiar arms tentatively wrapped themselves around Norma's waist locking at the curve of her belly. She closed her eyes at the touch, forgetting the helplessness that had been threatening to overtake her. A nose pressed itself into her hair and inhaled deeply. Norma almost swooned but the deceptively strong arms held her in place protectively keeping her from falling to her knees. She stayed still. She knew all that she had to do was move her head ever so slightly, exposing the slender column of her neck and all would be lost.

  
Norman was nuzzling into her hair now, breathing her fragrance that was uniquely all his mother's into every fiber of his being. He began to rock a little, swaying her ever so gently, wanting to hum a nonsensical tune. His eyes were closed and all he could sense was her soul opening up to his. He cautiously raised a hand to whisper over her bare shoulder causing goose flesh to instantly rise on her heated skin. It awed and fascinated him at the same time and the tiniest whimper of pleasure escaped from his lips and transmuted itself into her body. Norma pressed back a little and Norman exhaled haltingly at the contact. His hand trailed down her arm leaving the tiny bumps behind the touch of his fingertips. He interlocked their fingers together when he reached her hand and reassuringly squeezed it.

  
Norma tried to regain control of her breathing but it had become a struggle to do so. Norman was being so delicate, so sensual and she had never felt these kinds of sensations or emotions from him and for him as she did now. She leaned her head back to rest on his chest and she stared up at him. She noticed his trance-like state, and half-lidded her eyes to match his own.

"Norman..." she began almost a whisper.

"Mother...I'm so sorry...." She felt a tear splash onto her shoulder. Her son was silently crying, as if he was helpless to the whole situation before him. He needed guidance in his emotions. He needed her to be the strong one here to tell him what he should do. Her only problem was, she didn't know. She had to convince herself strongly that this wasn't something she wanted too, in the deepest part of her somewhere there was that little light that began to grow and warm and heal.

  
"Norman...you know we can't do this." she said barely audible when his lips pressed to her forehead and lingered. He was trembling around her but not willing to stop or break the dizzying spell he was casting.  
She turned completely to look at him and his head was bowed as if he couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes. She reached out a hand and trailed it down his arm to take hold of his hand and again lace fingers with him. She rubbed his knuckles encouraging him to speak the words that he started but she was too afraid to let him finish. Now she needed to hear. She owed him that.

  
"I've known this for a long time now," He said bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her uncertainly. "No other girls can even compare to you. I don't want them. All I can think about is you. You are the light that shines through this blackness that I can't find my way out of. If I have my dark moments, you are there to see me through. These past few weeks have been so frustrating to me. When I see you go out with someone like George or even Shelby it eats me up inside. I want to be the one alone with you, sharing your thoughts, sharing your space, breathing your air. It drives me crazy to know that you are in some other man's arms when you can be in my own and I know...yes I know that's the wrong thing for me to think and I don't know for the life of me WHY IT IS!" Norman's voice rose again, his emotions taking him over. 

"Norman..." Norma tried again bringing her hands up to cup his face to calm him before he went over the edge. She saw clearly how she affected him, but she had to at least try and be the rational one in this irrational situation.

He pushed his mother back to the sink counter and covered her with his body, pressing close bringing his face very close to hers. "All I know is....I don't want you to leave me alone. I don't want you to be alone. I want you to be with me....always." He punctuated his words with short sharp little kisses to her mouth. "Don't deny me this...but please....make me stop."

  
He helplessly fell into her arms and kissed her with all the passion that had been building inside of him and Norma was swept away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's it going so far? Let me know in the comments below!! I would love to hear from you!!


	5. A Happy Ending?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope for the future.

_"...We're supposed to be together aren't we, Norman?"   "Yes we are Mother....Forever."_

 

Epilogue:

"You cheated!" Norman said accusingly, with just the slightest hint of laughter in his voice. He held the cards high above his head as his mother tried to reach for them. He batted her hands out of the way.

  
"Come on, Norman, you know I didn't....just let me have the cards back!" Norma said her voice rising. She was grabbing for the small stack of cards that Norman kept just out of her reach. She looked away for a moment trying to hide the laughter that was bubbling up within her and noticed that a bit of skin from Norman's belly was exposed while his arms were lifted. His shirt tail had come un-tucked and his normally well kept appearance was getting disheveled with their tousling.

Norma took her opportunity and dived right into his ribs beginning to tickle him for all he was worth. Norman was taken off guard and he burst out into laughter. Dropped were the cards, now forgotten and scattered on the carpet. He ineffectually tried to push her hands away from his ribs as he gasped for air.

  
"Motherrrrr...STOOOOP!!" He whined, trying to remove himself from her clutches. She laughed and redoubled her efforts.

  
"What's wrong, Norman? Don't think that two can play at your games?" She found a particularly sensitive spot above his navel and Norman gasped and finally gained purchase of her hands. He forced them behind her back and met her struggles with his own.

  
Norman laughed without reservation and held a strong grip on his mother's hands. "You know, you shouldn't take advantage of my innocence, " he said bringing himself closer to her kissing her on her nose, "or underestimate it."

  
Norma became serious and looked at her son, who was calming himself and leveling her with a serious look of his own. "I would never do that....not in a million years." She kissed his upper lip and Norman closed his eyes to her softness.

  
"Is this how it's going to be with us now, Mother?" Norman asked, hesitant. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face with loving care and traced her cheek with his finger.

  
"Yes, Norman...I think I'd like that." She said and she truly meant it. "But I'm still afraid and I want to take this slow....and I'm still your mother....I will be who I always am like me or not."

"I wouldn't have you any other way..." Norman said. "But I will have you....forever...my own."

  
Norma yawned, suddenly sleepy. "Let's go to bed, honey," she told Norman as she had always done, without thought and without implying anything of what was a possibility to come. She smiled at her son and ruffled a hand through his hair bringing it down to his cheek and he closed his eyes and kissed her palm.

  
Norman held his hand out to his mother at the bottom of the stairs and she put her hand into his with confidence and love. He led her up the stairs thinking to himself over the night's events, satisfied that things were just the way he wanted them. _To sleep, perchance to dream..._

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you would like some MORE...MORE...MORE!
> 
> Please check out my Youtube Channel for Bates Motel Vids - TheEmpressAR
> 
> Here is my latest Bates video...Let me know whatcha think! Like, Comment, Subscribe!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzV5XJ3z0Qk


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